Photos of the Day 02/26

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Teacher Stacy Balbach smiles through a pie-covered face at Cuba City High School in Cuba City, Wisc., on Feb. 25. Students at a pep rally threw pies to raise money for the relief effort in Haiti. Over $700 was raised. Jeremy Portje/Telegraph Herald/AP

Children in Siliguri, India celebrate Holi, also known as the festival of colors, on Feb. 26 in school. Holi heralds the beginning of spring and is officially celebrated all over India on March 1. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters

A toad ventures on to a practice field as members of the St. Louis Cardinals work out near by during spring training baseball in Jupiter, Fla., on Friday. Jeff Roberson/AP

Carli Lloyd (l.) of the US fights with Solveig Gulbrandsen of Norway during their Algarve Women's Soccer Cup match in Olhao, Portugal, on Feb. 26. Jose Manuel Riberio/Reuters

Local officials inspect a dry pond in China's Yunnan province on Feb. 25. The worst drought in 60 years continues in the province, Xinhua said. Chen Haining/Xinhua/AP

An Iraqi Army officer looks at a map of an area of Maysan province, Iraq, during an emergency response planning meeting between Iraqi Security Forces, Iraqi Police, and US forces for the upcoming March 7 elections. Matt Ford/AP

At a police station in Seoul, South Korea, on Friday a man searches for his shoes among recovered pairs stolen by a 59-year-old man whom police arrested. The man, identified as Mr. Park, has stolen about 1,200 pairs of shoes at large hospitals, funeral halls, and stored them in a warehouse to sell on the street, local media reported. Lim Sang-Gyu/Reuters

Ice collects on Italian skier Markus Windisch's head as he competes in the men's 4x7.5 kilometer biathlon relay on Friday at the Vancouver 2010 Olmpics in Whistler, British Columbia. Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters

Kansas City Royals first baseman Bill Butler takes part in a base running drill at spring training baseball practice in Surprise, Ariz., on Friday. Charlie Nibergall/AP

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West (13) goes up for a layup against Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett in the fourth quarter of their game, which Cleveland won, in Boston, Mass., on Thursday. Winslow Townson/Reuters

Firefighters work to contain a massive fire in Hampton Beach, NH on Feb. 26. An entire Hampton Beach block, including at least six businesses, was destroyed as strong winds fueled a fire originating at the Surf Motel. Geoff Cunningham/Foster's Daily Democrat/AP

The US men's hockey team scores its third goal against Finland during the first period of their men's ice hockey playoff semifinals game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics on Feb. 26. The US defeated Finland 6-1 and moves on to the gold medal game on Sunday. Hans Deryk/Reuters

Dog handler Christina Oberhauser and her rescue dog Smiley search for survivors in a snow hole during a simulated avalanche rescue operation in Salzburg, Austria, on Friday. During the simulation, rescue dogs learn how to find victims of avalanches as quickly as possible. Kerstin Joensson/AP

Jim Atchison, President and CEO of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, speaks during a news conference at the orca whale underwater viewing area of SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., on Friday. SeaWorld has said it will start its killer whale shows again this weekend after Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, drowned a trainer at the Orlando park earlier this week. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

A French farmer prepares his cow on the eve of the 47th Paris International Farm Show on Friday. The show will run from Feb. 27 to March 7 in Paris. Benoit Tessier/Reuters

As Venezuelan politicians prepare for long-delayed gubernatorial elections, some opposition members have argued that their participation would validate the increasingly undemocratic government. But memories of a backfiring boycott in 2005 have hung over the decision.

Since April, Venezuela’s opposition coalition seemed to be gaining the kind of support and momentum it was long criticized for lacking. Its calls for peaceful protests and boycotts were met by a broad, consistent turnout, and an unofficial referendum it organized in July led more than 7 million Venezuelans at home and abroad to condemn the increasingly authoritarian moves of President Nicolás Maduro’s government.